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How To Apply Foundation: From Picking The Right Product To Setting Your Look

You’ve heard it time and time again: Everything will fail unless you have the proper foundation.The same goes for your makeup. Your foundation is the base for everything else, and if you screw that up, your entire face is doomed. ¨How to apply your foundation¨ was another one of Google’s top-searched beauty questions of 2014. But in case you are lost, here are a few tips to improve your foundation application:

Prep your face. Clean your face first to get fresh skin, remove bacteria and dirt from the air, and keep your tools clean. Moisturize with your favorite moisturizer. Wait about five minutes to let that set, then prime your skin to smooth any bumps or ridges and get a barrier between your skin and makeup. Primers also help hold your foundation in place, make it last longer and keep it from settling into your pores and wrinkles.

Pick a formula. It’s all up to your personal preference whether you want a compact cream or liquid foundation, spray or loose powder. Powders and sprays may provide lighter coverage while cream and liquids may give you more full coverage. Choose one based on the look you’re going for.

Choose the right color. Too light, and it can wash you out. Too dark, and you’ll have one heck of a tan on your face. The trick is to actually try the colors on your face and not your neck or hand. If possible, it’s best to test them out on your jawline and check it in the daylight. The best shade is the one that suits your color without blending.

Find the right brush. There are foundation brushes, powder brushes, blending brushes, contour brushes and about a thousand other ones to choose from (and let’s not forget about the sponges). Grab a kit, experiment with them and figure out which ones you can work with to get the most out of your makeup.

Follow an order. Dab your foundation to the center of your face first, then place a dab on your cheeks, nose, chin and forehead. Next, fill in the spaces by blending and spreading in between.

Fill in those other gaps. You don’t want to see where your foundation begins and ends, and neither does anyone else. Make sure application is smooth and even, and you may even want to run the brush around your ears and your neck, so there are no sudden changes in your complexion.

Cover your dark spots. Did you think we forgot about concealer? Nope, it’s best to apply after your foundation. Not only do you use less concealer this way, but your troubled areas may have already been covered when the foundation was applied. If not, take a brush to dab on some concealer then take your foundation applicator to blend that area and get an airbrushed look.

Set it off. Finish off your hard work with a translucent, matte setting powder. It may look white and strange in the container, but these powders won’t wash you out. They will make your new face stay in place, last longer and stay oil-free. The best way to apply them is with a large brush. Start at one temple, swipe down the cheekbone, up the bridge of your nose, down the opposite cheek and up the other temple, making the letter ‘W.’

Now you’re all set, literally! If you have any other foundation tips, feel free to share them in the comments.